Why vote? Does it really matter? As a rule, when a young
black person raises these questions they are quickly dismissed and rebuked
sharply. “People died so you can vote!” is the response. That response is
the normal trump card, automatically ending any intelligent discussion on the matter. Well,
perhaps we shouldn't dismiss those who raise questions so easily. Just maybe
they are on to something when they ask whether their votes count.
The basic idea behind voting, in a representative democracy, is that everyday people have a say in the direction of their communities and lives, vicariously- you vote for someone that carries your thoughts and sentiments and enacts them through public policy. We were taught as children that voting ensured our voices would be heard. We were told that we could help shape our world by voting people in office who feel the way we do. At this point I'm not sure if any of that holds. It seems that elections come down to a choice between two candidates, neither of whom represents what we believe. In other words, it appears that when we vote we don't even have the option to vote for our preferences.
During the healthcare debate a few years ago, a CBS News/New York Times poll indicated that most Americans actually were
in favor of a single-payer healthcare system. Neither presidential candidate, in the months prior, featured that in their platforms. So then, most Americans had no option to vote for anyone who actually represented them, the people- the very essence of what Democracy is. The same is true for military spending. For some time, the majority of Americans have favored
less military spending. As we approach another presidential election, again there is no major party candidate offering that option. Once more we are left without a candidate who represents public opinion. These are merely two examples, I could go on.
Is this democracy? If I'm not able to vote for a candidate who represents my interests, does my vote actually count? Or is it merely an empty exercise in civic duty? If my vote doesn't go toward my policy aims and preferences (and there isn't even an
option for it), what's the point? In raising these questions I am now primed to be rebuked. After all, didn't my grandmother and great-grandfather die for this right? My answer is no- emphatically. My forebearers did not hang from trees just so I can choose between two options that do not represent me. If you'd like to know what my ancestors would do, look to the
Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party for a lesson.
The MFDP was created in 1964. Having always been excluded from the all-white state Democratic Party, blacks in Mississippi understood that the political system did not represent them nor would it respond to them in its current form. They simply decided to form their own Democratic Party in Mississippi. They challenged the all-white Party, claiming that it was illegitimate because it discriminated against blacks. The MFDP organized and actually sent delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City that year, claiming they rightfully should be seated as the delegates from Mississippi.
Ultimately the national Party was forced to offer the MFDP seats at the convention as a compromise. The MFDP declined the compromise. Even so the lesson is still clear- my ancestors did not die so that I could continue to participate in an undemocratic process. They did leave us a road map to follow though: organize, agitate and create a new system when the old is unresponsive.